Childhood Memories
by Viv N -ChildishGrin
Summary: Yuki has been having strange dreams ever since he has been taking care of a pintsized Kyo. [Shonen ai, yaoi later.]
1. Chapter 01

**Title:** Childhood Memories  
**Author:** Viv  
**Genre:** drama/angst/romance/humor  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Fandom:** Fruits Basket manga  
**Pairing:** Yuki/Kyo  
**Disclaimer:** shakes head of course they're mine, like, DUH!  
**Summary:** _"… Shigure. Why in the world do you have a book on magic?"_ Multi-chaptered – chapter 01.

"WHAT THE- _OW!_"

_Thump. Thump. Thumpthumpthump._

"WHO THE HELL LEFT THIS FREAKING BOOK LYING IN THE STAIRS! SHIGUREYOUSTUPID-"

'… damn cat.'

A frustrated sigh escaped the lips of the young man as thin fingers reached up to massage his temple, his head throbbing at his cousin's constant yelling. He looked up at the ceiling for a moment, as if silently asking what he had done to suffer this much.

'Being born in the Sohma family. Right. Forget I ever asked.'

Yuki blinked and was suddenly brought back down to earth as an annoyingly familiar voice yelled something, shattering another brief and rare moment of peace. The rat's eyes strayed to the closed door of his bedroom before he finally huffed and quickly stood up from his low table – where sheets of paper were scattered – and stalked to the door and quickly slid it open.

"STUPID CAT! WOULD YOU JUST- " he quickly faltered as he stared down at the wide brown eyes looking up at him. Yuki could already hear the apology forming in Tohru's head.

"Oh! I'm sorry if I'm bother- "

"It's alright Honda-san. Kyo was being so loud that I had a hard time concentrating on my English assignment. I wanted to get it done to have the rest of the week free. This is none of your fault." he smiled gently at the girl as the soft blush on her cheeks receded and she returned the action.

"I came up to tell you that dinner was ready, Sohma-san."

The grey-haired boy nodded and slid his bedroom's door close behind before he followed his housemate downstairs.

"SHIGURE! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING!"

The moment Yuki stepped a foot into the dining area, he flinched. He quietly walked up behind a young man of his height bellowing and waving around a thick book in his right hand.

And then he reached out and whacked Kyo behind the head.

"OW! What the HELL was THAT for, you DAMN RAT!" Angry red eyes turned to glare at him.

Yuki glared evenly back at his cousin. "You're loud."

"Well you were not the one who fell down the stairs!"

"And clumsy."

"Shut up! It wasn't my fault! If that perverted dog hadn't left his book there I wouldn't have fell!" The redhead pointed the book he was holding at the figure sitting on the floor at the table, grinning much too innocently at them after looking up from the warm dishes under his nose. Kyo suddenly flinched and moved his shoulder around a few times.

"Now, now, Kyo-chan, you should've looked at where you were going. Besides, I thought cats always landed on their feet?"

"Well I also happen to be human and one of these days you'll be the death of me, bastard. And stop calling me that."

Soft steps quickly approached the dining area as Tohru emerged from the kitchen, carrying along a platter with a few bowls of steaming soup. The girl smiled brightly at the three men, beckoning them to take their places.

Kyo plopped down beside Shigure, dropping the book carelessly, as the remaining Sohma sat down on the other side of the redhead. Their housekeeper carefully placed a bowl in front of each seat before sitting down herself and putting the platter down at her left. The rice-cooker was already placed at her right.

"I hope everyone will enjoy dinner tonight."

"Everything smells wonderful Honda-san." A soft blush crept up the girl's cheeks.

"Thank you Sohma-san."

"Is this leek soup!"

Kyo glared at the bowl as if it were to jump up and attack him at any moment before looking up to see the sudden worried stricken expression on Tohru's face. He quickly looked down, took a deep breath and picked up the bowl before gulping down the warm liquid as fast as he could. A relieved smiled appeared on his friend's still blushing face.

"Ah, my little flower, my pretty housewife, how you honour an old dog like me each day with your delicious – ACK!"

"Shigure-san! Are you alright?"

A muffled snort was heard beside Yuki as the latter kept sipping his soup with his spoon as if he were completely oblivious to the situation. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Kyo rise and stomp off to the kitchen, still snickering at Shigure who was rubbing his forehead and nose – where four red lines had appeared, and whimpering as Tohru fussed over him.

Kyo returned a short moment later and Yuki saw his cousin's hand drop something beside his bowl. When he looked closer, a pair of chopstick – _'He got me a pair of chopstick too?' – _had taken the place of those he had thrown at Shigure. His gaze then settled on the redhead. Kyo broke apart his own new pair of chopsticks before raising an eyebrow at him and nodding at Tohru who handed him his bowl filled with rice. Yuki shook his head and returned to finishing his soup.

The table had been cleaned and the dishes were done when all four inhabitants of Shigure's house all found there places back around the table. Kyo was holding the book he had dropped earlier.

He stared at the cover for a moment. Then, giving the dark-haired man a strange look, he shoved the book smack in the middle of the table. Yuki leaned in, frowning.

"Magical spells and potions."

Shigure grinned wider.

"… Shigure. Why in the world do you have a book on magic?"

His older cousin blinked innocently at him and shrugged.

"Ah. Shigure-san, can I see it?"

Shigure nodded and again, smiled cheekily. Yuki noticed that Kyo was about ready to clobber the older Sohma.

Frankly, Yuki wouldn't even attempt to stop his rival from doing so. In fact, he'd probably lend a hand to the cat.

Tohru reached out, her small hands grasping the book and pulling it closer to her. She opened it and started reading, chocolate-covered orbs roaming around at the random page they had fallen upon.

Her eyes widened as she finished scanning a passage and proceeded to read it out loud for the rest of the room.

"Rejuvenation spell. Turns back ten years. Read the following chant out loud and then look at the person you wish to cast this spell upon. If you wish to cast it upon yourself, you need only to look at a clear reflection yourself.

Spell of rejuvenation

Turn back the tide of time

Take this person back to her younger years

Bring the past forward

And let him or her relive their youth

You have then successfully cast the spell. However, this will take overnight before any changes take place."

The young woman looked up and blinked repeatedly at the fiery teen facing her. Her cheeks reddened again.

"Ah. Uh, everyone, do you think this could really happen?"

Silence answered her as her housemates sweat-dropped. Kyo shook his head, exasperated, before looking back at the embarrassed girl.

"Don't tell me you believe that! Shigure, what the hell possessed you to have to piece of crap?"

The dog smiled sheepishly. "Aya gave it to me."

Instead of answering, Kyo dropped his forehead against the table as Yuki growled. "I should've known."

They snapped back at each other.

"Don't say the same thing than I-"

"Stop it!"

"No, you sto- ARG!"

"Ai, ai! Looks like the cat and the rat has much more in common then they want to believe, don't you think, my lovely flower? Great minds think alike."

"SHUT UP YOU STUPID DOG!"

"Again, they're agreeing on something. Although I'm not sure about the 'great' part of the quote in this case."

Tohru giggled at the two younger Sohma, one hand covering her mouth. Her eyes suddenly widened.

"Kyo-kun! You're bleeding!"

The boy looked away from his enemy and blinked before frowning. His hand rose to his temple and felt something sticky on his fingers. He pulled his tan hand back, staring at the red stains there.

Tohru was already fussing over him before the small droplets of blood on Kyo's forehead even registered in anyone's mind. The injured cat flinched when his friend's careful slender fingers came in contact with his scalp and he quickly jerked back.

"I'm alright Tohru. It's probably from falling down the stairs. I think I hit my head against the railing." He gave Shigure a pointed stare as the latter looked away, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his own head.

Kyo stood up and yawned, stretching himself gracefully in a way that reminded the others of a cat. He suddenly winced again as he brought an arm down and moved his shoulder around. Yuki remembered his cousin doing that same movement with the same shoulder earlier.

"Well, I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

And with that Kyo left the room.

---

July 22, 2005


	2. Chapter 02

**Title:** Childhood Memories  
**Author:** Viv  
**Genre:** drama/angst/romance/humor  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Fandom:** Fruits Basket manga  
**Pairing:** Yuki/Kyo  
**Disclaimer:** shakes head of course they're mine, like, DUH!  
**Summary:** _"… Shigure. Why in the world do you have a book on magic?"_ Multi-chaptered – chapter 02.

Eyelids fluttered open with difficulty as a young man sat up in bed and blinked repeatedly at his surrounding, slightly disoriented. Purple orbs took a moment to adjust to the darkness and Yuki tried to figure out what time it was and why he had so suddenly woken up. He turned to look at his bedside, the clock on his small table flashing back a bright '03:26 AM' at him.

Yuki frowned, running a pale hand through his messy hair, head tilting to the side in frustration. Why was he awake at this time of the night? He was usually a rather deep sleeper and he did not have any school today, so why wasn't he still sleeping?

The rat suddenly lifted his head, his ears having grasped a soft – so soft that Yuki normally wouldn't have heard it if it wasn't for the blessed silence of the night – noise. A thin eyebrow rose and Yuki pushed the blanket back and slowly dragged himself out of bed, slipping on his slippers before quietly stepping out of the room.

The boy's ears strained to silence and he remained unmoving for a few seconds before he heard almost inaudible whimpers coming from a nearby room. The next room, as a matter of fact. Yuki turned to his right – still being careful as to no wake anyone up – and headed towards the bedroom of the person that he tended to avoid during daytime.

Stopping in front of the door, he decided against calling out his cousin's name and instead slid the door open before stepping in and closing it behind him.

More whimpers and what he thought were sobs greeted Yuki's ears – it seemed his cousin had not noticed his presence or was still simply asleep. Yuki stared at the bed on the other side of the room for a minute or so, unsure of what to do, until he suddenly the soft sobs and sniffles were accompanied by whispered words.

"… _Shishou. Shishou. Where are you? Shishou..." _

The rat kept staring at the lump on the bed in bewilderment until another thought settled in his mind.

'His voice. There's something different about his voice.'

Yuki slowly approached the bed – or rather, stumbled his way over – before bumping into the side of the bed. His hand reached over to his left and when he found Kyo's night table, he looked for the lamp and turned it on.

The sight that greeted him left Yuki surprised. The boy blinked, his mouth slightly parting in confusion, his mind telling him that he was dreaming.

Actually, if he was still sleepy before, he was now very much awake, purple eyes wide open in disbelief.

It took Yuki a moment to realize it, but there was no mistaking the small orange furry head peeking out from under the dark blanket. The cat's eyes were tightly shut and one tiny paw stuck out on each side of its head. It was then that the mouse noticed the tears glistening at the corner of those closed eyelids.

Yuki leaned down closer and realized with a start that there was a thin strip of red liquid on the cat's head.

'Stupid cat. Must have passed out in pain or something. He should take better care of himself. His fall must have been nastier then we thought.'

Carefully extracting the other Sohma from his bed, Yuki immediately knew that something else wasn't quite right with the kitten.

'… wait a second – _kitten_!'

And as if on cue, a small poof! and a cloud of smoke surrounded him.

Yuki looked down at a small naked boy, tears still spilling behind the closed eyes as the warm bundle snuggled closer to the rat and Yuki's forehead creased in worry while he tightened his hold on the young boy in his lap.

"… it hurts. Shishou, it hurts."

It was then that the mouse also noticed the rather large bruise on the boy's right shoulder. He winced, wondering how that could have happened – how many more injuries did he have?

For a while Yuki only stared down at the child in his arms before the latter suddenly stirred and crimson eyes fluttered open, still shimmering with tears. The little boy looked sleepily back at the grey-haired older boy before his eyes widened in awe – his pain seeming momentarily forgotten.

"Yu-chan? No. Who are you? Where am I? Where's shishou? Where's Yu-chan? H'ru-chan? Kag'ra-chan?"

The childish voice grew more and more frantic and Yuki could only respond by holding closer the redheaded boy that reminded him so much of his archrival and whispering comforting words in his ears – although they were both still utterly confused by the situation.

"Hush. It's alright. You're safe here, don't worry. What's your name, little neko?"

The boy blinked at him, with something akin to wonder appearing in his red eyes.

"Kyo."

And Yuki blinked back, numbly nodding his head as all the facts added up – the cut on his head, the injured shoulder, the kitten, the transformation, those orange hair, those crimson eyes, that familiar although higher voice. And then he wondered how the possibility that this was Kyo had completely flown out is head.

This was Kyo's room after all.

And the tyke was an exact mini-sized replica of his cat cousin.

And then Yuki wondered how come he had taken his cousin in his arms as if it was the most normal thing in the world. And why the contact wasn't completely unfamiliar when the rat could only remember that the only times he had touched his cousin were during fights.

Small hands suddenly tugged at his nightshirt and Yuki down at wide, innocent eyes. The boy – no, Kyo started crying softly again.

"It hurts. I want shishou. I want Yu-chan. It hurts."

Suddenly crashing back down to earth, Yuki slowly stood up and headed towards the door. Sliding it open, he slipped out of the room. Small Kyo was still securely in his arms as he made his way to the bathroom.

Upon entering the bathroom, Yuki's hand quickly found the light switch as he flicked it up before closing the door behind him. He then strode to the tub and carefully sat down the small boy in his arms on the edge.

Yuki then walked over to the sink and opened the mirror, revealing a few shelves. He grabbed the first aid kit and went back to his young cousin. The boy was still staring at him in awe.

The silver-haired boy then kneeled down and dropped the plastic box on the floor. He opened the kit and took out a small bottle as well as some cotton balls.

"This might sting. Don't try to move too much and I'll try to be as gentle as possible, alright? I'm sorry if I hurt you, koneko."

A small head of messy redhead bounced a few times before Kyo stopped moving and obediently looked down as Yuki poured drops of a clear liquid on a cotton puff before he leaned closer and gently ran thin fingers through the orange hair.

When Yuki finally found the cut – it was actually on his cousin's forehead – he softly dabbed at the thin red line. Kyo pursed his lips tightly, struggling to hold back the new tears threatening to escape. Yuki could only smile fondly at the cat.

'This should do for now. I'll call Hatori in the morning to come check on him. I don't know what other injuries he could've gotten from falling down the stairs.'

Yuki then put everything away and picked back up young Kyo and left the bathroom. He went back into his cousin's bedroom before noticing that the boy was shivering in his arms. Yuki suddenly realized that the child was still naked.

"Are you cold, Kyo?"

The small boy nodded against his neck.

Upon putting his cousin down on his bed, Yuki saw the pair of flannel pants and the white t-shirt crumpled up on the bed. Throwing the pants on a nearby chair, the young man then took the t-shirt and nodded to himself. He turned back to Kyo and pulled the piece of clothing down over his cousin's small form. Kyo wrinkled his nose in shame when he saw how tiny he seemed in the shirt.

The smaller Sohma let out a small yawn, a tiny hand covering his open mouth. Yuki could only grin at the sight of a pintsized Kyo sleepily rubbing his eyes – partially hidden by a completely dishevelled mop of orange hair – and practically swimming in an oversized t-shirt, cheeks still flushed in embarrassment.

'How cute.'

"Go to sleep koneko."

"Ah – could you stay with me? Please? I don't want to be alone. I don't know where shishou and Yu-chan are."

'Shishou. He might be talking about Kazuma-san… about shihan.'

Kyo sniffled, his eyes one again brimming with tears and Yuki quickly pulled him in his arms, slowly rocking him in his lap.

"It's alright, Kyo. We'll call him in the morning, alright? Right now you need to rest."

Kyo snuggled closer.

"What's your name?"

Yuki smiled softly, tightening his hold on his cousin.

"Yuki."

"Yuki-chan… will you help me find Yu-chan?" The older boy frowned.

"Yu-chan?"

"Kito-san took him away from me." Yuki's eyes widened.

'Kito-san? Why- who's Kito? And why does that name scare me so much?'

Kyo quietly cried in his cousin's arms.

"Kito-san took Yu-chan away from me. Please help me find him, Yuki-chan… I miss Yu-chan."

"I will try, koneko. Now hush, go to sleep Kyo."

The older Sohma carefully leaned back and lied down on the bed, the cat's smaller body comfortably hugging him, his head fitting under Yuki's chin as the latter wrapped a protective arm around his waist and pulled the blanket over them.

Kyo's childish voice grew fainter as his eyelids slowly dropped and his voice faltered as he slipped away into a deep slumber.

"Thank you Yuki-chan. I'll find you Yu-chan. I miss you so much Yu-chan. Yu-chan…"

A final thought crossed Yuki's mind as his own purple orbs closed while the soft and warm breathing of Kyo lulled him to sleep.

'Yu-chan… I've heard that name before… I've heard all those names before…'

---

August 5, 2005


	3. Chapter 03

**Title:** Childhood Memories  
**Author:** Viv  
**Genre:** drama/angst/romance/humor  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Fandom:** Fruits Basket book - manga  
**Pairing:** Yuki/Kyo  
**Disclaimer:** shakes head of course they're mine, like, DUH!  
**Summary:** _"… Shigure. Why in the world do you have a book on magic?"_ Multi-chaptered – chapter 03.

"_When I grow up, I'll become strong!"_

"_I'll become strong too, so that I can protect myself."_

"_You don't need to become strong!"_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because when I'll become strong, I'll protect you!"_

"_Really?"_

"_I promise!"_

When Yuki slowly awoke from his sleep, the first thing that occurred to him was that something seemed different.

His eyes remained closed, disorientation filling his mind as he realized that his bed seemed warmer, much warmer than it usually was when he would wake up each morning. He had never remembered feeling this comfortable before.

And then he thought he felt something brush against his cheek and quickly realized that there was a soft breeze over his face and that if he'd open his eyes, he would surely be greeted by sunlight.

Which lead him to wonder why in the world his window was open and the curtains pulled away.

The boy's purple orbs eventually fluttered open.

And his eyes instantly met a pair of wide crimson colored ones.

And then it took him a moment to remember that he knew of only one person with red eyes and it was-

'_Kyo._'

The teen was suddenly completely awake as memories of the night before came rushing back into his mind.

'_I'm in his room._'

Abruptly, Yuki sat up and kept staring at the child before he noticed that little Kyo's eyes contained a mixture of awe and happiness. The older Sohma hesitantly smiled at him.

"Koneko, did you sleep well? You're up already?"

Chibi Kyo nodded his head and smiled sweetly, before shyly adding: "Yuki-chan is pretty when he's sleeping." A small blush appeared on his cheeks. "Yuki-chan is very pretty right now too."

The silver-haired teen blinked a few times at his cousin and when Kyo's words finally sunk in, crimson also stained his cheeks as his eyes widened.

But Yuki still couldn't help himself from smiling warmly at the redheaded boy.

Kyo giggled, relief seeming to spread through his features, as he quickly jumped onto Yuki, wrapping his short arms around the latter's neck and burying his blushing face into the crook of his neck. The nezumi, in turn, pulled the child closer and fondly rubbed his small cousin's back.

Yuki more than welcomed the warmth provided by the small bundle in his arms, for it had been so long since he had really touched or been touched by anyone so gently and lovingly. He had craved for this warmth all his life and of all people to give it to him, it would've been Kyo!

Yet as Yuki looked down at the orange strands, he could only remember how his cousin has seemed terrified last night, despair and hurt evident on his cherubic face. At the back of his mind, the youth knew that such an expression should not have had a place on the face of a child of this age.

'_Or of any other age, for that matter._'

He slightly pulled, already sensing a tiny lost, as he tilted young Kyo's face up to look at him.

"How old are you, koneko?"

Kyo blinked before releasing Yuki's neck and holding up six fingers.

The adolescent grinned.

"You're so tiny, koneko." He teased as Kyo turned as red as a tomato and pouted adorably.

"We need to get some good food into this small body of yours!"

At this, the child stopped pouting and nodded determinately.

"Shishou always says that I don't eat enough. Mama never let me have snack, you know, and father always scowled me for eating too much…" sadness seemed to tint his voice, before it brightened, "but Yu-chan, H'ru-chan and Kag'ra-chan and even Momiji always give me some cookies and stuff. And Gure, Yame sneaked in some candies for me. And Tori gave me an apple whenever he saw me! They always say that I'm too skinny! But shishou is taking care of me now, and he always gives me plenty of food! He says that one day I'll be strong. Do you think so Yuki-chan?"

Wide red orbs looked up at him and Yuki chuckled.

"I think he's right, koneko."

"Shishou says that when I'm strong enough, he'll teach me martial arts. I want to be strong so that I defeat everyone when I'm older! Yu-chan said that he wanted to become strong that he could protect himself but I told him that he didn't too."

"Why is that?"

"Because when I become strong, I'll be able to protect him and everyone else that I care about. Kyoko-san told me that when you love someone, you will do anything to protect them from hurting. She made me promise to always take care of those who are special to me. She's really nice and smart and I want to become strong, especially for her, shishou and Yu-chan."

The rat stared at Kyo, speechless at the fierceness in his cousin's voice.

And then he noticed the slight trembling of Kyo's lips.

"But Kito-san took Yu-chan away… I knew Yu-chan was scared and didn't want to go and that Kito-san was mean to everyone but- but I couldn't do anything…"

Was this really only a child? Young Kyo, despite the innocence, childishness and naivety that seemed to radiate from him, was much more mature than he looked. His small voice hinted of hurt and pain, and fear and bitterness sometimes slipping through yet he still insisted on taking the task of shielding from those he cared about from any harm.

He had never known this Kyo.

Yuki hugged the child closer to him, his eyes slipping tightly shut with suppressed emotions, and he smiled softly into Kyo's hair.

"I wish I had a friend like you when I was your age, koneko."

The young boy sobbed. "But I'm no strong enough to do anything, Yuki-chan."

"Hush, don't say that koneko. Remember, you promised that you would become strong… and when you do, you'll be able to save Yu-chan then."

"Rea- Really?"

"Uh hum."

"Will- will Yuki-chan help me?"

"Of course I will."

And even if Yuki hadn't wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to refuse after taking one look at those large, hopeful eyes streaked with tears.

"You're a really good friend koneko. I still wish I had a friend like you."

"You have me now, Yuki-chan."

Fifteen minutes later and Yuki was on the main floor, sitting at the low table quietly watching TV and carefully sipping a hot cup of tea. Kyo was resting comfortably in his lap, a mug of milk clasped between his small hands and frowning as Mogueta – on the TV screen – threw a pair of scissors at his 'enemy'… an orange toothbrush.

Yuki sweatdropped.

'_Why on earth are we even watching this?_'

"Yuki-chan?"

"Um?"

"Can we watch something else?"

Letting out a sigh of relief, the older Sohma immediately grabbed the remote control and started flicking through the channels.

"Ooooh, I want to watch that!"

Yuki paused and when he noticed what had caught the kitty's attention, he grinned.

"You like watching cooking shows, koneko?"

"Hai!"

"Want to become a chef later?" Yuki teased.

Chibi Kyo shook his head.

"Shishou's cooking is horrible. We always have to get someone else to make us food. I want to learn how to cook and surprise shishou one day!"

Gray strands of hair gently swayed around as Yuki laughed, patting the redhead's messy mop of hair.

"Sohma-san! You're already up! Oh I'm so sorry, I haven't prepared breakfast yet!"

And out of the corner of his eyes Yuki saw a blur of green and pink rushing past his back before it suddenly froze just at it was going to step into the kitchen and the mouse recognized Tohru.

"Soh- Sohma-san… Who is that?" the onigiri girl stuttered, staring blankly at something in Yuki's lap.

"Oh, that," he waved a hand in dismissal, "is just Kyo."

Silence.

Wait, wasn't it a _someone_ in his lap, and not a something?

'_Oh. Shit._'

And a shriek answered his thought.

"KYO-KUN!"

'_OH. SHIT._'

Little Kyo looked up, startled, and almost dropped his mug when he heard someone screaming and effectively taking his attention away from the cooking show he was watching.

Then he blinked at the pale, pale, pale, wide-wide-wide-eyed gaping girl.

And he promptly turned his head into Yuki's neck and clutched the latter's shirt.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice muffled. Yuki blinked down at the top of his head and frowned.

"Honda-san, could you please not look so shocked, I think you might be scaring Kyo."

"H- hai! I'm sorry!" Yuki smiled at the brunette and turned his attention back to the child in his arms.

"Hey, koneko, it's alright, she's a good friend."

By then Tohru had recovered and walked over to the two Sohmas before crouching down and smiling brightly – and sheepishly – at the chibified redhead.

"Hi, I'm Tohru Honda!" she held out her hand.

Kyo hesitantly put his tiny hand into hers and when he realized that both Yuki-chan and the girl were smiling, he visibly relaxed and beamed at her.

"My name's Kyo Sohma!" he giggled.

Which lead to Tohru squealing and fussing over how cute and adorable he was.

Only then-

"Tooooooohruuuuuuuuuuuu, my pretty flooooweeeeeeer! My lean and well-defined stomach is crying for your good fooood! And you know I can't write on an empty tummy, my lovely housewiiiiife!"

To which the petite girl answered by turning horrified again and barrelling her way into the kitchen.

Yuki felt a nerve popping on his forehead but before he could react, the door had already slid open and Shigure was leaning against the wooden doorframe, grinning and daintily waving his hand around as if greeting a crowd of admirers.

'_Or maybe he had just been spending too much time with Ayame._'

And then the teen froze when he remembered that-

"Oooooooh, now who is this little fellow here? Hey there, little cutie!"

Yuki threw his cup of tea at Shigure, hitting the man smack dead on the nose.

"You're going to scare him, bastard."

Rubbing his nose and crying crocodile tears, the dog of the family casually strode over and leaned down to get a better look at the boy in his younger cousin's lap and Yuki tensed.

There was a moment of silence.

And then dark-haired man grinned jovially.

"Kyo-chaaaaan! Is that youuuu? Long time no see, squirt!"

Yuki blinked.

---

September 27, 2005


	4. Chapter 04

**Title:** Childhood Memories  
**Author:** Viv  
**Genre:** drama/angst/romance/humor  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Fandom:** Fruits Basket book - manga  
**Pairing:** Yuki/Kyo  
**Disclaimer:** shakes head of course they're mine, like, DUH!  
**Summary:** _"… Shigure. Why in the world do you have a book on magic?"_ (Multi-chaptered – chapter 04.)

* * *

"Kyo-chaaaaan! Is that youuuu? Long time no see, squirt!"

Yuki blinked.

And young Kyo also blinked and stared for a moment at the adult Sohma, his small hands tightening on his mug of milk.

Shigure simply responded by seating himself down on the floor and leaning even closer over the table, his nose an inch away from the kitten's as he kept grinning happily.

"What's the matter, little squirt? Don't you recognize me? Oh, my poor heart!" he exclaimed, suddenly straightening himself and dramatically placing his hand on his chest, "Kyo-chaaaan, do you know how much I suffer from the fact that-"

"Shigure, your heart is on your left, not your right."

The dog paused for a fraction of a second before deciding on ignoring the scowling silver-haired teen as he raised the hand in his lap, holding up his index finger. "For most people, you mean! As for me, I am so generous that I even hold my heart in my hand! After all, I-"

"You look like Gure."

Shigure stopped again and looked down into large suspicious red eyes. "But you look older than him."

The older Sohma only giggled and, flicking his wrist repeatedly, made an almost delicate up-and-down waving motion with his hand.

"Well of course, Kyo-chan, just because you've been away for a little while doesn't mean others stop growing, do they? Ah, but I do remember that you absolutely loved those butterscotch candies! Do you still do? I mean, you must have eaten many other things too since you do seem to have grown a quarter of a millimetre or two since I've last seen you! Oh dear, don't I feel old now? Old, I am getting so old! How this saddens me so!"

Little Kyo's eyes had only kept widening during Shigure's rambling and an excited smile appeared on his face at the mention of the candies. He quickly placed his mug of the table before scrambling out of Yuki's lap, much to the shock (and disappointment) of the rat, and jumped into Shigure's, his arms winding around the dog's neck. The older Sohma, who was busy carefully dabbing off his imaginary tears, let go of his sleeve and wrapped his arms around the child's waist.

"Gure!"

"Well bless this boy! He finally recognized me! Kyo-chan, my heart sings and leaps in glee for you to remember me! You have made me the happiest man on earth, to get the chance to have such a cute little relative in my arms and-"

"Shigure," Yuki growled, interrupting his cousin, "shut. Up."

"My, my, no need to get angry, Yuki-kun! Why so jealous?" Shigure chuckled, rubbing his nose on they younger cousin's chin and in the process tickling Kyo's small nose with his dark hair. Kyo's cheeks, in turn, turned a faint pink as he giggled gleefully and tried swapping the hair away as he wrinkled his nose. "Or is it that you need my approval on your looks? You share good genes with your brother, Yuki! Ah, well of course, since you are still young and I am Shigure Sohma and all my little cousins look up to m-"

"Shut up, perverted inu!"

Yuki, by then, was more than tempted to just reach over and grab chibi Kyo for fear that the boy would be infected by the dog's stupidity. Instead, his hands fisted themselves over his pants as he tried to prevent himself from ripping his cousin away from the man. Kyo looked happy, and Yuki didn't have the heart to deny him anything at the moment.

And so the teen finally settled on watching his cousins laughing together. Yuki had realized that he had never seen the dog of his family so open and affectionate, unless it was with Hatori and his stupid brother Ayame, and yet, there was something… different in the way Shigure held the young cat. He was holding small Kyo and looking on at him almost like- like-

… _like an older brother would._

Yuki's violet orbs widened for a short moment, unseen by the two other occupants of the room, before smiling softly at the sight his cousins made. He slowly turned his head away after a while, feeling as if he did not have the right to watch such a sweet scene, and was startled when he saw someone standing in the doorway that connected the room to the kitchen.

Tohru smiled at him before trudging over and crouching down beside her friend. She leaned closer to Yuki and, letting out a soft giggle, directed her gaze at Shigure and small Kyo, who were then tickling each other, as she whispered, "Aren't they just adorable?"

The warm smile on the brunette's face widened as she tilted her head, "I have never seen Shigure-san like this. Shigure-san seems to have the same look in his eyes when he's looking at Kyo-kun right now as Ayame-san has when he sees you, Sohma-san."

Yuki wasn't quite sure what to answer as he opened his mouth and-

Heard a rumbling noise coming from beside him.

All eyes turned to little Kyo, who's flushed cheeks darkened to a lovely shade of tomato red as the blush slowly spread out throughout his face to his ears.

And Tohru turned hysterical as she quickly stood up and ran to the kitchen, almost stumbling to the floor as she did so.

"Ah- ah, I'm so sorry, Kyo-kun! The food, I forgot to bring out breakfast, it's already past nine and I haven't even set the table yet! I'm so, so, so sorry, you must all be starving! This is all my fault! Oh no, oh no, oh no!"

Kyo, on the other hand, blinked repeatedly after the girl before settling on giggling. After a moment, while his two cousins watched him and smiled at his pink cheeks, he made his way out of Shigure's arms and crawled over to the mouse's side before wrapping his short arms around the latter's arm and cuddling it. Yuki looked down at the mop of orange hair in surprise before chuckling and pulling the chibified cat into his lap.

"You looked lonely, Yuki-chan." Kyo snuggled himself into the teen's chest.

Yuki and Shigure's eyes widened simultaneously.

Finally, the silver-haired Sohma smiled down softly at the worried boy in his lap and fondly pat his head, suddenly remembering his injury, before gently turning him around in his lap so that Kyo would face the table. The rat then took the still half-full cup of warm milk on the table and carefully placed it between Kyo's tiny hands.

"Drink this up before Honda-san comes out with breakfast, koneko. After that I'll check your cut and bruises again and find you some proper clothing alright?"

The child cat beamed up at the older boy and nodded as he took a sip of milk and returned his attention to the cooking show still airing on the television.

---

"Ah… what do you think happened to Kyo-kun?"

Yuki and Shigure looked up from their bowls of rice. Their oginiri friend blushed as she looked down at the table.

"Ah- ah, not that you need to answer, I'm not blaming any of you, I'm just curious, you really don't need to ans-"

"Well," the dog drawled, interrupting her babbling, "that's an interesting question, my little flower." He paused, putting down his bowl and chopsticks before raising a hand and tapping his chin with a slim finger. The other hand went under the elbow of the raised arm and held it up as Shigure looked up and seemed to ponder the question.

Yuki sweatdropped.

"Ah! I cannot think of a proper answer, so I might as well tell you the truth!" the writer finally grinned. "I gave Kyo a drink from the fountain of youth!"

Tohru blinked. Yuki frowned.

"Why yes, the pond in our garden! It is a small fountain of youth! If you drink it, it will cause your body to physically reverse itself into time and become younger!"

The frown of Yuki's face deepened and a vein popped on his forehead. He dropped his bowl on the table.

Tohru blushed again and her brown eyes became large. "A- a fountain of youth? The pond? Youth? The water from the pond is magical? I'm so sorry, I never knew!" The young girl waved her arms around in shock.

Yuki's eye twitched.

And he threw his chopstick as the older man.

"Honda-san, please do not believe everything that stupid mutt say."

The brunette's eyes became swirls, the redness of her cheeks intensifying.

"Ah- ah, you mean it's not true? Oh- oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so gullible!"

Shigure sighed and pouted at his cousin, his nose red. "Ah, Yuki! Are you implying that I am a liar? Yuki, how can you hurt me so? How can y-"

"The book."

"Huh?" the dog rubbed his sore nose, confused.

"The book." Yuki glowered at his older cousin.

Shigure shrunk back, eyes wide and sweatdrops appearing on his forehead. "Huh?"

"The magic book my idiotic bother gave you. Tohru read something in it and when she looked up, Kyo happened to be sitting across from her."

Tohru started sobbing and shrieking. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault I shouldn't have read that page. I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry Kyo-kun, it's all my fault that you've-"

"It's alright, my pretty flower, we're not mad at you for-"

Yuki sent his empty cup – again – flying at the dark-haired man, effectively smacking him on the forehead and sending his head reeling backward for a few seconds. "It's not your fault, Honda-san."

"Yuki-kun is so mean to me." Shigure whined.

A sweet laugh echoed through the room.

All gazes were directed into Yuki's lap. Kyo, cheeks pink and eyes closed, was laughing as he placed his hands on the table and bent his head down slightly. Yuki had been feeding him by carefully dropping food in his small mouth with his chopsticks.

Time suddenly seemed to stop for the rest of the room's occupants.

At the back of his mind, the rat noticed that Shigure seemed more than shocked at Kyo's expression. The dog's mouth was open but no sound came out as he froze for a moment. Slowly, though, a small, soft smile formed on his lip, and the adolescent thought he saw a flicker of something like regret and sadness in his cousin's eyes. Before he could be sure, however, Shigure's gaze became affectionate.

Tohru had covered her mouth with both of her hands. She stared at little Kyo for a while before trying to suppress the tears of joy that threatened to leave her large chocolate eyes. Was this really Kyo-kun? Was this the boy that she lived with? Was this how he used to be before Akito, before the curse really started weighing down on him? The girl smiled tenderly at the boy, marvelling over the boy's actions and wishing that she had met him as a child.

Yuki did not move for a while as the small bundle of warmth in his lap kept laughing.

With a start, Yuki realized that he did not remember ever hearing his redheaded cousin laughing so freely, being so carefree, as if nothing in the world worried him. Yuki realized that he never remembered seeing Kyo so open and happy.

Kyo was laughing.

And Yuki had never heard such a beautiful sound in his life.

Suddenly Yuki felt his heart tighten in his chest as he looked down at the lively kitten sitting on his thighs. Chibi Kyo looked up at him, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he opened his red orbs and kept laughing.

Something flashed through the rat's mind, a brief image of a small boy with messy bright orange hair and large ruby eyes reaching out a hand to a slightly smaller boy, crouching under a tall tree, with silver hair and large amethyst eyes. Amethyst eyes filled with tears and ruby eyes filled with concern clashed and as the fairer child crumpled to the ground, the other one dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around the crying boy.

"… _I'll protect you!"_

The smaller boy looked up and whispered something. The concern and sadness on his companion's face transformed into a fierce determination as he pulled the grey-haired youth closer.

"_I promise!"_

The redhead dropped a soft kiss onto the head of the sobbing child.

'_My dream… was that my dream last night?'_

Another imaged flashed through Yuki's mind.

The small boy, the redhead from earlier, was holding a tiny creature in his arms. He carefully cradled the tiny rat closer to his chest and dropped a small kiss on the grey head. The rat opened its eyes and looked up at the boy before raising itself in his arms and giving the boy's cheek a small lick with his pink tongue, as if to reassure him. The child laughed and blushed, letting the rat rub its head against soft cheek.

Yuki realized that Kyo's laugh was resonating through his mind.

"_Yu-chan!"_

"Yuki?"

"Sohma-san?"

"Yuki-chan?"

… Wait, Sohma-san?

Yuki tore his gaze away from the red orbs looking up at him before noticing that everyone was staring at him.

Small warm hands suddenly gently cradled his face and Yuki tilted his head back down to look at chibi Kyo, worry written all over the boy's face. A soft finger trailed up his right cheek and wiped something under his eye.

The young redhead then pulled his hand away and still held out his finger. Yuki saw the clear droplet resting on it, glistening back at him.

He was… crying.

Crying?

Kyo stood up in front of Yuki, making him slightly taller than the rat, before lowering his head and dropping a small kiss on the silver-haired boy's forehead.

"… _I'll protect you… I promise!"_

The rat abruptly wrapped his arms around Kyo's shoulders and buried his head into the crook of the boy's neck.

Yuki broke down.

'_Why… Why am I crying? Why?'_

Kyo wrapped his arms around Yuki's neck and pulled him closer, concern and sadness etched across his childish features.

'_Why? Why am I crying? What were those images? Why, Kyo? Tell me why you've never looked at me like that? Why, Kyo? Tell me why you never smiled like that to me? Tell me why I can't remember ever seeing you smile so sincerely? Tell me why I can't remember ever seeing you smile like that to me? Tell me why you refused to care about me? Tell me why I've never remembered being held like this and yet your embrace seems so… familiar?' _

Yuki failed to see the guilt and regret underlying Shigure's calm gaze.

* * *

November 6, 2005

Aaaaah, sorry for such a long wait. I tend to not realize how much time passes after I write something and procrastinate before realizing 'eeeep! It's been more than a month? Two months? Three months? FOUR?' and so on and so on. Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait although I think some readers might want to skin me alive for ending chapter four like this. I apologize. I actually didn't even intend to end it this way (so dramatic) but… Well, let's just say that I can never quite follow any outline I've set for myself when writing. I usually just go with whatever comes to mind and seems to work.

Anywaaaaaaaayyyy…

Notice how each chapter just seems to get longer and longer? And look, it actually doesn't begin with Yuki waking up! But wait, another 'important' scene where they're eating? Ayaaaaaaah… Uh, I wonder where the next chapter is going to be taking place and how it will begin then… And long it will be! --' Heh, in the meantime, feel free to leave comments here, at my writing-journal (www-dot-livejournal-dot-com/childishgrin) and my drawing-journal (www-dot-livejournal-dot-com/offthesidelines).

Thanks for reading! (And more thanks for reviewing!)

Psssssst. If anyone can tell me how each person is nicknamed by others, it would be helpful. (Examples: how does Ayame call Kyo again? And why? How does Tohru actually calls Yuki? Is it Sohma-san or Sohma-kun? Or the members of Yuki's school committee, how do they (Kakeru, etc) call him? Kyo's friends, how do they call him? Does Tohru call Kyo by 'Kyo' or 'Kyo-kun'? How does Kazuma call him? Etc.) The more info, the better. Merci beaucoup!


	5. Chapter 05

**Title:** Childhood Memories  
**Author:** Viv  
**Genre:** drama/angst/romance/humor  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Fandom:** Fruits Basket book - manga  
**Pairing:** Yuki/Kyo  
**Disclaimer:** Furuba would've been completely screwed up since the beginning had it belonged to me.  
**Summary:** _"What will happen when you go back to normal?_" Multi-chaptered – chapter 05.

_

* * *

Laughter. _

_Many familiar laughs._

_Voices he knew, voices he once cherished. It had been so long since he had heard them._

_So long since he'd last heard real, undisguised happiness in those voices._

_He saw two boys tumbling to the ground, much to the amusement of a group of teens and younger children sitting nearby under the shade of a large tree. The louder of the two boys, blushing madly, quickly scrambled back onto his feet before helping his companion stand up, the corner of his large red eyes crinkling in worry. His friend smiled gratefully and reached out to brush away the dirt and grass on the first boy's cheek._

"_Oh, look at them! Aren't they such a cute little couple?"_

"_Indeed, indeed!"_

_There was more smirking and giggling as two of the older youths winked. The dark-haired one reached out to clasp the slim hand of his partner-in-crime as the latter gazed on approvingly and adoringly. _

"_Just like the two of us!"_

"_Very much!" the paler adolescent nodded vigorously, his long white hair following the movement of his head._

_The already-blushing boy flushed and glared at the group. _

"_SHUT UP!"_

"_We- we're not…um…We're not!" the almost mini-sized replica of the white-haired androgynous teen replied quietly, his pale cheeks coloring themselves a light pink._

"_Really? Guess I do have a chance then!"_

"_WHAT! How dare you leave me for my little brother! You are so cruel! I thought you loved me! Me! Such beautiful, gorgeous me! And you will never touch my adorable little brother! Nev-"_

_Two hands appeared and gave the two pranksters light but solid smacks behind their heads. A third teen, tall with jet black hair, stared at the both of them._

"_That's enough. Leave them alone before that one over there decides to claw your eyeballs out."_

"_What? Oh no! Our eyes, our pretty eeeeeyes! Not them. And especially not Aya-chan's beautiful ones!"_

"_No, no, no! You're no fun, Hari! What do you think, Kure-chan? Isn't Hari-chan boring? Isn't he? Kure-chan?"_

"…"

_A few feet away, the young redhead pulled his friend along, his hand tightly clasping that of the thinner boy. No more than five steps later flecks of red and silver could be seen running away as fast as their small feet could take them._

_The pale boy laughed, though he was breathing harder as he was still running._

_But laughing and smiling came naturally when this silver-haired boy was with his crimson-eyed companion. _

------

Large amethyst-colored eyes slowly opened.

Yuki blinked a few times as he tried to push the grogginess out of his mind and clear his blurred vision. He could already feel a light headache coming on and that the exhaustion he felt would refuse to leave for quite a while. He just wanted to go back to sleep.

But no. Something in the back of his still fuzzy mind was telling him that he needed to be awake now, though he couldn't quite remember what.

'… _a dream?'_

He did, however, feel the weight resting on his stomach as he carefully lifted his head, his vision finally clear.

And what he saw was a small sleepy head full of dark orange hair.

'… _Kyo?'_

"Sohma-kun?"

The rat looked up with a start and found himself staring into worried brown eyes. It took him a moment to register who it was that they belonged to.

"Honda-san?"

Tohru smiled, relief spreading over her features although the hint of worry did not quite leave her eyes, and reached out, gently squeezing his shoulder.

'_A year ago she would've been crying and impulsively hugged me and turned me into a rat... and then cry more and apologize profusely.'_

Yuki smiled back, before looking back down at the small bundle curled up beside him, head still resting on his stomach. He didn't dare move but also couldn't help wondering how he got in bed in the first place, nor why he was in bed when his clock was telling him that it was seven o'clock in the evening.

"You passed out," Tohru answered, as if reading his mind, "so Shigure-san carried you back here. Kyo-kun absolutely refused to leave you and has been keeping watch over you since this morning. He even refused to come down for dinner earlier. He fell asleep a little moment ago."

The rat stared at his friend for a moment, the events from earlier in the day slowly coming back to him. Yuki looked away, embarrassed.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Sohma-kun. My mother told me that you should always be always to cry whenever you need to and especially in front of those who care about you. It shows you trust them, it's not sign of weakness. You're a strong person, Sohma-kun."

Yuki smiled gratefully, though he gaze were still not quite ready to face his friend's, and-

Grumble.

Grumble, grumble, grumble.

"Oh dear! Are you hungry? I'm so sorry, I've only been talking since the moment you've woken up! I should've asked you before, I'm so sorry Sohma-kun! I'll got heat the leftovers right away!"

The silver-haired boy flushed and looked away as he heard the brunette giggle.

"Thank you, Honda-san."

"Could you wake Kyo-kun up then? He hasn't eaten yet either."

"No problem, we'll be right down."

"Alright then!" the onigiri girl smiled as she disappeared from Yuki's bedroom and slid the door close.

It took the rat a moment before his purple eyes finally focused on the motionless bundle curled up beside him. Yuki grinned at the quiet and calm form of his 'younger' cousin and the amusement in his eyes grew as he watched Kyo practically burying his head into the blanket where it had gathered on his stomach.

'_So adorable._'

The adolescent stared a moment longer at the small Sohma, still not quite willing to wake the boy up. Yuki wanted to keep this image of this child-Kyo that he had never seen imprinted in his mind.

A gentle Kyo, a small boy sleeping peacefully, seemingly free of tension, anger and fear, with no frown marring his face. A young redhead with an expression of innocence, a strong sense of protection and warmth and care that wasn't yet hidden from others. A little angel smiling childishly instead of scowling when he was awake.

'_Smiling at **me**._'

Unconsciously, Yuki's hand rested on his cousin's head, his thin fingers gently running through the child's soft, thick hair, as his dark purple eyes became slightly moist and his voice came out in a murmur.

"What will happen when you go back to normal? Will you still care for me like you are now? Or will you go back to hating me? Will you forget about this completely?"

'_Will you go back to hiding yourself from others, and from me? Would you ever show us… me, the real Kyo again?_'

A soft rustling answered his quiet questions. The rat blinked a few times, and froze instantly, suddenly realizing where his fingers were, stroking the boy's hair.

"… don't stop… Yu-chan…"

"_I really like your hands, Yu-chan… They're so pretty and warm and soft. You're the only person in the whole world who I don't mind touching my hair._"

A flash of a small, slim, pale hand buried in lush fire orange hair, and-

-and then Yuki saw his cousin yawn and stretch before opening his red eyes and rubbing the sleep out of them. Kyo looked back at the mouse and smile dazedly, which made the silver-haired teen relax.

"Yuki-chan?"

"Uh hum."

"You're awake!"

Yuki chuckled when the boy launched himself at him, throwing his small arms around the older boy's slender neck and burying his head into the crook of it. Yuki's amusement, however, quickly died when he realized that the child in his lap was slightly shaking.

'_Wha… wait, are you crying? No, why are you crying?_'

"Koneko."

Quiet sobs answered him.

"Little neko, why are you crying? Kyo? Kyo! Look at me!"

Yuki's hand found its way under Kyo's chin and he gently tipped the boy's head up to look at him. Tears marred the childish face and the teen found himself panicking.

"Kyo? Kyo, what's wrong? Does you shoulder still hurt? Does your head hurt?"

At that point, a wail from the chibified-cat of the family only answered him.

The rat winced, tightening his arms around his cousin when the latter buried his face back into Yuki's neck.

'_Why… why is he crying? Why isn't he saying anything?_'

Another cry answered his thoughts.

"Don't ever do that agaaaaaaaaain, Yuki-chaaaaaaaaaaan!"

"… Huh?"

"I don't want Yuki-chan to be sick! I couldn't see Yu-chan a lot because I couldn't see him whenever he was sick and he got sick a lot so I couldn't see him a lot and then they wouldn't let me see Yu-chan anymore and I don't want the same thing to happen again because if Yuki-chan gets sick I won't get to see Yuki-chan a lot and then if Yuki-chan gets sick a lot then nobody will let me see Yuki-chan anymooore!"

"W-wha-"

"I was so scared! I was scared that Yuki-chan would have to leave me tooooooooo!"

"Wha-"

'_He's crying… he's crying because of me? He's crying for me?_'

The boy kept sobbing into a chest as Yuki sat there in a stunned silence for a moment trying to sort out his thoughts and his Kyo's quasi-incoherent rambling/wailing.

And then he laughed.

His small cousin immediately quieted down and looked up at him, sniffling as tears still ran down his reddened cheeks.

Yuki could only reach up to wipe those tears away from those lovely crimson eyes and drop a gently kiss on the tip of his cousin's small nose before lightly caressing his soft cheek.

"Oh koneko, don't worry. I won't be leaving you anytime soon."

Wide watery eyes stared up at him and small hands tightened their holds on his shirt.

"R-really? P-promise?"

The grey-haired boy smiled fondly at his cousin and pressed their foreheads together.

"Yes. I won't leave you so easily, koneko."

"N-never?"

"Never. I promise, as long as you seek me out… I won't leave you, Kyo."

Kyo smiled through his tears and his red orbs fluttered close as curled closer to the warm, comforting body he was resting against, his own body refusing to leave the gentle, protective arms embracing him. Yuki only smiled and responded by holding the boy closer to him.

That was how Tohru found them a moment later when she quietly slid the door to Yuki's room open. A soft smile graced her lips before her sparkly brown eyes met those of her friend and she tilted her head sideway, as if asking him if he'd rather stay in bed to rest.

The male teen simply looked down at the boy in his arms and nudged him.

"Koneko, I'm hungry and I bet you are too."

A low growling answered his statement, causing him to chuckle. By the room's entrance, Tohru giggled.

Small Kyo remained motionless for a few seconds before slowly letting go of his grip on the older Sohma's shirt and shuffled out of bed before waiting for his cousin. Yuki smiled and followed suit, taking the boy's hand.

"Let's go clean wash your face first, alright? Honda-san, we'll be right down."

"Alright then, Sohma-kun."

When the pair came down a moment later, the table was set up and two bowls of still hot miso soup greeted them along with the heated leftovers of the dinner. It seemed their female housemate had made sure to leave them a bit of each dish she had made for dinner and enough for both of them. The onigiri girl was seated at the small table, waiting for them with a bright smile on her face.

When Yuki sat down in front of her, Kyo diligently sat at another side of the table but as close to the rat as possible.

And by the time Yuki was halfway through his soup, Kyo was already done with his and licking his lips like a contented kitty before holding out his empty bowl and cheerily yet politely asking Tohru for some rice, to which the brunette happily complied.

"I cut some smaller pieces for you in each dish, Kyo-kun, so that you'd have your own share too."

Kyo grinned as a response, bowing his head to thank her when he received his bowl back and quickly started eating, his chopsticks picking up the smaller pieces of steamed vegetables, ginger chicken and fried tofu deftly.

"Soooo good Tohru-neechan!"

Tohru blushed at the compliment and smiled giddily at how her chibified-friend called her. Yuki could see how much self-restraint she was putting on from simply glomping the cute little redhead.

"That's because you have a good appetite, Kyo-kun."

"Maybe, but yours is the best, Tohru-neechan! Shishou can't cook at all!"

Tohru giggled. "And it looks like he still can't."

"Still can't?"

The two teens froze. "Oh no, it's nothing Kyo-kun," the girl hastily replied, trying not to panic at her slip, "nothing at all."

Child-Kyo only stared for a moment before cheerfully resuming his meal.

"Tohru-neechan should show me how to cook! I want to cook for shishou one day!"

"Not yet koneko," Yuki gently cut in "as much as you want to and as much as Tohru-neechan wants to teach you, I'm sure, you're still too young to handle things in the kitchen."

"I'm not! I can make onigiris by myself!"

"Do you cook the rice yourself?" Tohru asked, "Do you cut things up yourself too?"

"… No."

Yuki smiled ruefully at his cousin. "You're still too young to handle a knife."

"B-but- Yuki-chan!"

"I said no," the silver-haired Sohma replied firmly, leaving no place for protests, "you are still too young," and in a softer tone, "I don't want you getting hurt."

Small Kyo seemed to suddenly understand why his cousin was so adamant on refusing to let him learn how to cook, and simply nodded obediently, almost sadly. "I'm sorry, Yuki-chan. I didn't mean to make you angry."

Yuki looked at him, startled, and shook his head guiltily. "I'm not angry at you, koneko. I'm just…" he trailed off, failing to find the right words.

"He's just worried about you, Kyo-kun," their brunette friend finished for him, "Sohma-kun is just quite protective of you because he cares about you very much."

Yuki sighed, grateful that his female friend understood him.

"Honda-san is right, koneko. I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"And you know what," Tohru continued gaily, "I have an idea! Whenever I'll be cooking we'll let you come into the kitchen to watch! And maybe sometimes I'll let you help me out with easy things but you will not be allowed to touch any knives or go near the stoves, alright? I'm sure Sohma-kun won't mind that."

The redhead's eyes widened and he turned back to Yuki, blinking at him expectantly. There was still some uncertainty in those young crimson orbs.

It took a moment before finally nodding his head and smiling indulgently at his companions.

"Alright alright. But koneko must always listen to Tohru-neechan, understood?"

The boy's mood instantly lifted and a bright smiled appeared on his childish face as he nodded.

"Hai! I promise!"

Yuki chuckled over his full bowl of rice and resumed his supper as his cousin followed. Tohru looked on, smiling.

"Ah, Honda-san. Where's Shigure?"

"Shigure-san left earlier to visit your brother. He should be back soon."

The rat tensed.

'_Shit! He's probably going to tell my stupid brother about this- this situation!_'

Yuki took another bite of chicken and tried to calm himself down.

"Tohru-chaaaan! My lovely housewiiiife, I missed you and so I'm back and I bring some very good company with meeeeeeee!"

"Tohru-chaaaaaaaan! It's lovelyyy and graceful meeeee! I come bearing gifts with meeeee!" a singsong voice added.

Kyo jumped and scrambled from his place to hide behind Yuki while the latter winced at the second obnoxious voice.

'_Speak of the devils._'

"Oh Kamiiiiiii, isn't this my adorable little lucky kitty Kyon-kichi?"

Yuki froze for the nth time that day.

* * *

February 26, 2006 

Aaaah, almost three months later and I finally appear with another chapter! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm too good at procrastinating with everything in life (including university assignments) and so I keep pushing back my (imaginary) deadlines (as if I even set any). Bad Viv, bad, bad, bad Viv!

Apologies aside, I'd also like to thank all of those who've been leaving reviews, and especially those who've done so for each chapters and those who've answered my questions about 'names' in the last chapter. This time I'd like to know if I've gotten things right about the 'neechan' thing. That it a derivative of 'big sister', right? Can anyone tell all the other terms for family members (and maybe even some examples on how they are incorporated in the names)? I mean, I think I heard that onii-san is 'older brother' and okaa-san is mother (oba-san is grandmother, right?)? Anywho, I need someone to clear them all up for me.

Though some of you took the time to answer my question last time, I was actually also asking for _every_ characters in Fruits Basket. I'm still trying to figure out how they are called by others and how they call others. I know, I know, I'm very demanding!

See, the thing is that most of the info that I've gathered is from the internet and I've not seen a single episode of the anime. Also, the mangas that I've read so far were in French (the French edition is ahead the TokyoPop one by one to three volumes, I believe) and the first five or so volumes that were published had many mistakes concerning how the characters were called by their entourage. The editor eventually realized that it kinda screwed up the story a bit, and so issued a note explaining it at the end of the volume where their started using the proper naming system (with all the "kun", "san" "chan" and such). I already knew about it from reading many Furuba fictions (in English) and for being a fan of mangas/animes but obviously the French translations screwed me up because that's what first introduced me to the Furuba world.

Enough rambling… remember, you can also follow my stories (including real peoples based ones) and leave comments at livejournal(dot)com/users/childishgrin.

A plus tard,

-Viv


	6. Chapter 06

**Title:** Childhood Memories  
**Author:** Viv  
**Genre:** drama/angst/romance/humor  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Fandom:** Fruits Basket book - manga  
**Pairing:** Yuki/Kyo  
**Disclaimer:** Furuba would've been completely screwed up since the beginning had it belonged to me.  
**Summary:** _"Shi-chaaaaan! Kyon-kichi is so mean to meeee!_" Multi-chaptered – chapter 06.

* * *

Yuki froze for the nth time that day.

And so failed to make a run for it with his small cousin in his arms before his brother could have had the chance to glomp the terrified boy who had been hiding behind Yuki less than a second ago.

The dog he could still handle, but Ayame was from a world of his own!

Kyo immediately tensed and his bright hair stood on end, a nervous hiss escaping his small pink lips before he started struggling and trying to reach his violet-eyed cousin in an attempt to escape from the strange white-haired man clinging to him.

A moment of silence followed as Yuki, Shigure and Tohru staring at the scene wide-eyed, the image of a clearly uncomfortable orange kitty taking Kyo's place between Ayame's arms. The snake had a wide, blissful (if not dimwitted), open-mouthed smile plastered on his face and for a moment the three observers thought they could see sparkles appearing around the golden-eyed man.

Chuckles followed sweatdrops as the youngest Sohma finally freed himself, by scratching his cousin's arm and quickly scampering back to his initial hiding place, behind Yuki, much like a disgruntled young cat.

"Kyon-kichi!" the snake sobbed, dramatically holding his arm, "you're so meeeeeaaaaaaannnn to meeee!"

And then threw himself over Shigure, burying his feminine face into the dog's shoulder and sobbing wildly (if not shrieking), "Shi-chaaaaan! Kyon-kichi is so mean to meeee! He hurt me, Shi-chan, he hurt meeee!" and clung desperately to the other man as if the inu was a lifesaver in the middle of the cold wide ocean, "he hates me!"

"Aya-chan," crocodile tears welled up yet again in Shigure's eyes as he hugged his cousin, "it's alright! It's alright! Don't say that, Kyo-chan doesn't hate you! No one could ever hate you!"

"Re-really?" sniffed the other man, still clinging onto the dark-haired Sohma, "n-no one? What about you, Shi-chan? Do you at least care about me in some way?"

"Of course!" Shigure replied loud and clear, large tears still glittering at the corner of his eyes, "I love you, Aya-chan! Nothing could ever take away a single shred of the love I have for you! I'll do everything I can so that nothing ever hurts that beautiful skin of yours again, Aya-chan!"

"Oh, Shi-chan! You really love me, don't you? You think my skin is beautiful?"

"I think _you're_ beautiful, Aya-chan!"

"Oh Shi-chan! Take me away! Take me to your room so that we can- "

"OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

"Now, now, little brother, you shouldn't be using such crude words. And _especially_ not by Kyon-kichi's young little virgin ears! I prefer saying that Shi-chan and I will be showing our lov- "

"_Brother._"

"Yes, my cute little brother?"

"Shut. Up. Please."

"You hear that Shi-chan?" Ayame continued histerically, "Did everyone hear that? I need to call Hari-chan!"

"Yes, yes, you should," the dog nodded, "this is quite something."

Yuki, feeling his fingers twitching and itching to smack his brother's head off, quickly fisted his hands and suppressed the strong urge to do so.

For the moment.

"What the hell? Call for what?" Yuki yelled, clearly frustrated by his older brother. Tohru kept watching and smiling, though worry was starting to show on her face.

"My darling little brother actually said _please_ to me. You heard that, Shi-chan? He said _please_!" Ayame cheerfully replied in lieu of answering to the teen, whipping out his cell phone from who knows where among the frills of his long dark green coat with golden stitching.

"WHAT!"

"Hari-chaaaaaaaan!" Ayame squealed, "my adoring little brother and I have just made another giant step in our intimate relationship! He actually said _please_! He said _please_, Hari-chan! He finally showed me some respect! Oh, Hari-chan you should have seen the looks in his eyes! I could feel all the tenderness of a papa for his baby boy welling up in me when I saw-" and kept gleefully yapping on as the silence on the other end of the line of his cell phone was finally cut off with a 'click'.

Yuki raise a hand to his face, two fingers rubbing the area between his closed eyes as he tried to get rid of his headache.

His brother kept babbling away, as if their cousin was still listening.

And Yuki tensely, but quickly, scooped his redheaded cousin in his arms and stood up before smiling amiably down at Tohru, his voice eerily calm, "Thank you very much for the meal Honda-san. Though it is delicious, as always, I'm afraid we have both lost our appetite due to the presence of some nuisance in this very room. Now if you'd excuse me, I need to go check on Kyo's wounds."

A panicking Tohru froze and stared worriedly at the two cousins.

"Wounds? Oh my God! I completely forgot about Kyo-kun's wounds! He fell down the stairs yesterday! And then he was bleeding from his head! OH MY GOD! I SHOULD HAVE INSISTED ON CHECKING ON HIM! IS HE ALR-"

"Honda-san," Yuki promptly but gently cut off, "he's fine. But it's already late evening so I should get him to clean up and change before I check on him and made sure everything's healing fine."

"Do you need any help?"

"We'll be fine."

"But Yuki-kun," Shigure drawled, "shouldn't you call Hatori just in case? I mean, Kyo-kun did fall down almost half the stairs and now that he's Kyo-chan, we need to make sure how his body is really taking it after that… um, transformation?"

"Oh," the silver-haired adolescent nodded once, "I was telling myself last night that I would, but it completely slipped my mind."

"Well that's understandable right now," his brother replied, voice unusually quiet.

Yuki's violet eyes widened for a moment under the snake's gentle gaze, before looking away and softly asking him to call their cousin again.

A decision which he quickly regretted.

"Hari-chaaaaaaan!" the feminine man beamed (because he was the only who could do that over the phone) as he pressed on the speakerphone button, "Listen to me, listen to me, listen to me, listen to me Hari-chaaaaan! My adorable little brother and I just took another step further! He actually trusted me enough to make an important call for him!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I could've asked anyone!"

"Oh, I feel so touched, Hari-chan! He actually-"

"STOP YAPPING AWAY ABOUT SOME STUPID NONSENSE AND GET TO THE POINT!"

"_Your brother's right. What do you want? It's past supper time."_

"Hai, hai! He wanted to know if- uh, what was it again?"

Yuki felt his eye twitching again.

"_Goodbye, Aya-"_

"Ha, Hatori," Shigure finally intervened, "don't hang up now."

"_And what do **you** want?"_

"You're so cold, Hatori."

"… _Goodb-"_

"Ah hey wait! I wasn't finished."

"_What do you want_?"

"Actually, it's not just what I want. Could you come by for a bit, we might have a little patient for you."

"_Little? What did you do to Tohru? Did you overwork her?"_

Tohru blinked and fell back as the entire room could gape at the cell phone.

"_Well?"_

"Oh, oh no, Hatori-saaaan! Shigure-san has been treating me just fine! Actually, this isn't about me."

"Hatori-san," the dog interjected, "how cruel of you to think that! Besides, why did Tohru come first to your mind? Are you possibly harboring a secret giant crush on her?"

"…"

The onigiri girl flushed, eyes wide as saucers and confusion spreading through her features.

"Ah! Your silence gives me more of an answer than anything else could, Hatori."

"_Your level of stupidity shocked me and rendered me speechless for a moment."_

"But anyway, enough with the chitchat here!"

"_You and Ayame started it._"

"… Right. Could you just come by? It's a bit complicated."

"_Fine. I'll spend the night then."_

"Splendid! Hari-chan, Shi-chan and I will have a slumber party! Hari-chan! Buy some popcorn and chips on your way he-"

'_Click.'_

"How mean! And I wanted to ask him to buy those little gummy fruits candies that Kyon-kichi loves so much."

Hearing that, the boy in question suddenly perked up in Yuki's arms and stared at the older Sohma, who was grinning at him.

"You still like those, don't you Kyon-kichi?"

Kyo shyly nodded, hands still gripping tightly onto Yuki's shirt as the older boy slightly released his hold on him.

"Don't you remember, little kitty?"

"… Yame?" a small voice hesitantly replied.

The older Sohma beamed yet again, this time with roses appearing behind him.

"Come give Yame-sama a hug, daaaarrrling!"

Kyo, now excited, quickly jumped down from Yuki's arms and scrambled over to jump into the snake's lap, giggling and struggling as the pale man squished him to his chest.

Yuki, Tohru and Shigure looked on, grinning (and sweatdropping).

Until five minutes later, as Ayame was still squishing the small neko.

Kyo had stopped giggling a good three minutes ago and was now staring glumly at his grey-haired cousin, as if waiting for the adolescent to get him out of the snake's clutches.

"Ayame." Yuki finally spat out.

"Yeeeees, my cute otouto?"

"Um," Tohru quickly interrupted, having noticed the trembling in Yuki's fisted hands, "Kyo-kun is turning blue. I think you're cutting his breath off, Ayame-san."

"Nonsense! Kyonkichi-kun is more than happy to be here, isn't he? Aren't you, kitty-chan? Aren't you? Little kitty loves the warmth of my-"

POW! PAF! POW!

"Shi-chan! Did you see that? My little brother actually hit me! Three times at that! He touched me three times! I must call Hari!"

Shigure waved his hand around, "He'll be over soon, why don't you tell him then."

"But I want to tell him now!"

"He'll turn the car around and go back if you do."

"… Hai, you're absolutely right Shi-chan!"

Meanwhile the rat had gathered poor chibi Kyo in his arms and lifted him up in his arms before lightly bowing at his worried brunette friend.

"Honda-san, please try not to remain alone for too long in the presence of those two."

"Ha- hai?"

"Their stupidity might lead them to emotionally scar you for life."

He turned around to head for the stairs. Behind him, Ayame and Shigure were both wailing and proclaiming their innocence.

"Oh, Yuki-kun," Shigure suddenly called out, quieting down, "I bumped into Kazuma-san today on my way to Ayame's store. He's thinking of coming by tomorrow, so I told him to bring some of Kyo's old clothes."

Yuki froze and slowly turned his head to stare at Shigure, who cheerfully continued, "I do believe he was somewhat confused at such a request, but he did say that he would."

Yuki finally walked off his head full of dark thoughts and murderous intents as he gently held his small cousin the entire time and took him to get ready for the doctor's visit.

* * *

October 2, 2006

Wow, eight months later and I _finally_ appear with a new chapter. I apologize. I've been either lazy or busy with school/work.

In other news, I have volumes 18 and 19 of Furuba in French! Yay.

Thank you for the reviews that have been left since I've posted chapter 5. I hope you (and also others) will keep leaving comments, constructive criticisms and tidbits of info as you have been doing so since the beginning.

For now, I'll will have to go back to studying for some upcoming psychology tests, write a new chapter to _Kisses_ (my HanaRu Slam Dunk fic), a Simple Plan RPS oneshot for a friend, a possibly a new xxxholic oneshot, or Viewfinder oneshot. Mmmmmm not sure yet. Don't forget, you can also read and comment my fics at www(dot)livejournal(dot)com(slash)users(slash)childishgrin, or chack out my icons/wallpapers/drawings at www(dot)livejournal(dot)com(slash)users(slash)offthesidelines.

A plus!

-Viv


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